Job interviews

Preparing for interview

There are lots of great sites and books about interview prep, all of them suggesting subtly different things beyond dressing neatly and sitting up straight.

Just as with a great CV, there is no such thing as the ‘right’ answer, or even a ‘complete’ answer to interviewing well. These pages are a distillation of many peoples’ experiences about interview. They are the things our coaching clients most often ask about, and the things we watch for as interviewers.

The real secret to interview success is to be the successful candidate. That sounds like a circular argument, but it’s not. It is about talking yourself into the role; making your preparation so complete, and so on-target, that you are simply the most obvious candidate to hire.

The more preparation you are willing to put in, the higher likelihood you will be successful. If you are thinking that that sounds like hard work, then maybe this isn’t a job you really want! And that’s absolutely OK.

These notes are for people who’ve seen a job and are thinking: ‘that’s my job’ and will go to great lengths to make sure they get it.

This is not a section which intends to cover interview questions. Others have done this well already, for instance, Martin John Yate in his book: Great Answers to Tough Interview Questions.

This section is about presenting yourself well, and finding ways to raise your overall game.